The Fruits Of Knowledge
by J. B. Tilton
Summary: The squad reopens the case of a man who was convicted of murdering his daughter when new evidence comes to light that indicates he may actually be innocent.
1. Chapter 1

COLD CASE

The Fruits Of Knowledge

By J. B. Tilton (a.k.a. NoAzMale) and Teri Thibeault (a.k.a. Tessalynne)

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Rating: K+

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Disclaimer: "Cold Case" and all related characters and events are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and the CBS Corporation, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

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(Authors' note: This story takes place between season 1 episodes "Look Again" and "Gleen".)

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The squad reopens the case of a man who was convicted of murdering his daughter when new evidence comes to light that indicates he may actually be innocent.

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PROLOGUE

June 15, 1995

"Ted, she won't be any trouble at all," Charlotte pleaded. "You spend very little time with her. All she wants to do is spend some time with her father. Is that so much to ask?"

"Look, I'm going to be busy working," Ted replied, not at all in the mood for the conversation. "It's not like I'll be able to spend much time with her. And the nursery isn't exactly a good place for an 8-year-old. Especially one like Cari. You of all people know how sick she is. I just don't think the nursery is some place she needs to be."

"She's not going to be any trouble. She's got her backpack with her that has several books. She can just sit in the corner and read while you work. But she'll feel like she's spending time with her daddy. That's all she wants. Please. Do it for me. She spends most of her time cooped up in the house and you rarely have any time for her."

Ted looked at his wife. The last thing he wanted was to be saddled with a sickly 8-year-old. He had work to do and he didn't want to be bothered with watching Cari, even if she was his daughter. But he knew that Charlotte wouldn't let up until he relented.

"Okay, fine," he said finally. "As long as she sits in the corner quietly and read her books. I can't be bothered with her while I'm working."

"She won't be any trouble, I promise. I'll go get her. She'll be so happy."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm leaving in a few minutes. Just make sure she's ready when I do."

"She's in the back yard. It will just be a couple of minutes. Thanks Ted. You won't regret this. I promise you won't."

"Just get her ready," said Ted, his temper wearing thin. "I've got a lot to do and I need to get to work as quickly as possible."

Charlotte kissed her husband and headed for the backyard to collect Cari. Maybe things were turning around. Maybe Ted was finally mellowing toward their daughter. As she headed for the backyard she said a silent prayer.

* * *

July 10, 1995

Several police cars blocked off both ends of the street. A coroner's wagon was sitting near a culvert that was located between the two roadblocks. Two men were in the ditch to the culvert carefully removing what looked like the body of a young girl. A policeman was holding a backpack looking through it for any type of identification that might be found in it.

"Got it," the policeman called to the detectives who were talking with the woman who had discovered the body. "It looks like this is the girl. There are a couple of books in here with the name Cari A. Mendelson printed in them."

"Bag and tag it," said one of the detectives. "Doc, any idea how long she's been in there?"

"A few weeks," said the medical examiner. "The body is pretty decayed. And in answer to your next question, I won't know the cause or time of death until I've had a chance to perform an autopsy. The body was jammed in the culvert pretty good. My guess is she was dead when she went into the ditch. The rain must have caused a flashflood that washed her body into the culvert. It got jammed in there causing the water to pool up. Plus there's extensive signs that some of the local animals have been at the body."

"Any signs of abuse or anything like that?" questioned another detective.

"I can't tell," said the medical examiner. "Like I said, the body is in pretty bad shape. I'll rush the autopsy. I should have my preliminary report for you in a few hours."

"Thanks, Doc," said the first detective. "This poor kid has been missing for 25 days. If it's the Mendelson girl. What about identification?"

"Well," said the medical examiner, rubbing his chin, "I don't think I'll be able to identify the body except through dental records or possible even DNA. If you can have the parents send their child's dental records over to my office I should be able to have a positive ID for you very soon."

"I'll get right on it," said the second detective. He turned to the first detective. "What do you thing? An accident?"

"I don't know," said the detective. "It's only a couple of miles from the nursery where he said he took her that night. I think we'll wait until the Doc has finished his autopsy before we question the Mendelson's again. Until we have a cause of death."

"Good idea. I don't know about you but I never did buy his story about the girl running away. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me."

"I know the feeling. Let's keep this as quiet as possible until we have some definite answer from the coroner. Then we'll go back and see if Mr. Mendelson's story has changed."

The second detective just nodded as they turned and headed for their car.

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	2. Chapter 2

ONE

September 37, 2003

Nick put the finishing touches on his latest report and then placed the report in a file and placed the file in his outbox. He looked over at his inbox and sighed.

"Well," he said, "I think that will do it for a while. I need a break."

"Well, you have been at that for nearly three hours straight," said Lilly, looking up from the report she was working on.

"Yeah, well the boss has been on my case about my paperwork," he said. "Said I needed to get it caught up."

"You do have a habit of putting it off," said Stillman, coming in to the room. "When you get behind, I get behind. And I don't like to be behind."

"Hey, I'm working as fast as I can," protested Nick. "I should be all caught up by the end of the day. But there is a lot of paperwork to do. It takes time to get it all done."

"I seem to stay caught up," said Lilly, smiling at Nick.

"Please, don't help," said Nick annoyed.

"Just make sure that you do get caught up," said Stillman. "I have a boss, too, you know. And I have to explain to him why your reports aren't being filed."

"I'll have it caught up by the end of the day," said Nick. "I promise."

"Just see that you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some reports to catch up on myself."

Lilly just smiled as she turned back to her reports. Every month it was the same. Vera was behind in his paperwork and the boss had to jump start him to get it done. Not that Vera was a bad cop. He was a very good cop. But like a lot of his contemporaries he just wasn't that keen on paperwork.

As she went back to her paperwork she glanced up and noticed two men come into the room. One was an older man, maybe in his fifties or so. The other one was a much younger man. Lilly guessed he was about 20 or 25. They spoke to one of the uniforms who pointed in the direction of Stillman's office. The older man, who Lilly noticed was carrying a briefcase, thanked the officer and then headed her direction.

She watched at the man glanced at her momentarily and then went to Stillman's door. He knocked and after a moment she heard Stillman say "come in". Her interest was piqued. The older man seemed familiar. She knew she had seen him before but she just couldn't place where.

Stillman obviously knew the man. A smile crossed his face as the two shook hands. She noticed the older man introduce the younger man and the smile faded from Stillman's face. She watched as the three men sat down. The older man took something out of his briefcase and handed it to Stillman. The lieutenant looked at the paper and his brow furrowed. Finally she decided that she needed to get back to her paperwork. If anything warranted her attention the boss would let her know. She had only returned to her work for a few minutes when Stillman called her, Vera, and Jeffries into his office.

"This is Hank Cain, late of the narcotics squad," Stillman introduced. "These are detectives Rush, Valens, and I think you all ready know Will."

"Sure do," said Will. "We worked on a case a couple of years before you retired."

"I remember," said Cain. "Can't say I miss those days. Too much stress. I much prefer what I'm doing now."

"And just what is that?" Lilly asked.

"Forensic accounting," said Cain. "No more chasing the bad guys. All I have to do is sift through a bunch of account records and document any discrepancies. Plus it's regular hours. No more long nights waiting for a suspect to come home."

"From a cop to an accountant?" questioned Vera. "That's quite a change."

"Yeah, well, I was always interested in accounting. When I decided to retire I also decided to follow my interest. Went to some night classes and got my degree in accounting. Now I can pretty much set my own hours and I have to tell you, the pay is better."

"So what brings you by the old haunt?" Lilly asked.

"I do," said the younger man.

"This is Terrance Mendelson," said Cain. "He recently hired me to go through the books of his father's business."

"Mendelson?" questioned Will. "That name is familiar."

"It should be," said Stillman. "His father is Theodore Mendelson. He was convicted in 1995 for murdering his daughter. He's sitting on death row in the middle of yet another appeal."

"I remember reading about that case," said Lilly. "Something about he took his daughter to work with him and then murdered her and claimed she had run away. Obviously the jury didn't believe his story."

"I did," said Theodore. "I never believed he killed her. I still don't. And now I have proof."

"That's hard to believe," said Will. "The evidence was pretty convincing. There was no evidence to substantiate that your sister had run away like your father claimed. Plus the coroner said she died from cyanide poisoning. And your father worked routinely with cyanide in his nursery business."

"Yeah, he used it for pesticides," said Theodore. "Of course he worked with pesticides. But that doesn't mean he killed her."

"Well, cyanide isn't something you can just pick up at your local drug store," said Vera. "It's a controlled substance. You have to have a license to buy it. And if I recall there weren't any other viable suspects in the case. Plus there was a substantial amount of cyanide that your dad couldn't account for."

"Until now," said Stillman, handing Lilly the sheet of paper that Cain had handed him.

Lilly took the paper and looked at it. It looked to be some type of invoice. On the invoice, highlighted in yellow, was an entry for cyanide.

"What's this?" Lilly asked.

"The cyanide that Theodore Mendelson couldn't account for at the time of his trial," said Cain. "You're right. At the time he was tried Mendelson couldn't account for the missing cyanide. That was the most damning piece of evidence against him. The prosecution claimed that he had used the cyanide to murder his daughter and that's why he couldn't account for it."

"That's right," said Stillman. "According to the prosecution, about 3 ounces of cyanide couldn't be accounted for."

"And I'm the one who made that determination," said Cain. "I went through his records and found the discrepancy. I was able to account for all of the cyanide he had purchased except for those 3 ounces. There was never any indication of what happened to it so everyone just figured he had used it to poison his daughter with it."

"So what's this?" Lilly asked.

"It's the missing 3 ounces," said Terrance. "My dad would mix his own pesticides. That's why he used cyanide. Those 3 ounces would be the exact amount he would have used in one of his mixtures. At the time my sister disappeared he was mixing a batch of pesticide for one of the local golf courses."

"Terrance didn't know I was the one who had gone through his father's records back in '95," said Cain. "His mother finally agreed to let him sell his father's old nursery and they needed an audit to make sure everything was in order. I found that while I was going through some of his old records. It was stuck to the back of another piece of paper in a different file."

"I don't understand," said Lilly. "What's that got to do with us? This isn't a cold case. It was closed in 1995 when Mendelson was convicted of his daughter's murder."

"As I said," said Cain, "that missing 3 ounces of cyanide was essentially what convicted Mendelson of the murder. I've gone through all the old records again. And I can now account for every ounce of cyanide that he bought. Which means he couldn't have used it to murder his daughter."

"Maybe he got some somewhere else," suggested Will. "He did use it a lot. He had access to it."

"Except there was no indication he had gotten any cyanide anywhere else," said Stillman.

"Exactly," said Cain. "And if that's true, it means that the most damning piece of evidence against him just went out the window."

"So Theodore Mendelson could be sitting on death row for a crime he didn't commit," said Lilly. "That's evidence his defense lawyer is going to want to know about."

"I have an appointment with him later this afternoon," said Cain. "Terrance's father is still appealing his conviction and he still claims he didn't kill his daughter. This information could go a long way to getting his conviction overturned. Maybe get him a new trial. It might even get the charges against him dropped."

"If he's innocent," said Stillman. "It's still possible that he murdered his daughter."

"He didn't do it," protested Terrance. "This invoice proves it. He didn't kill my sister and he shouldn't be sitting on death row for it."

"Well, someone killed her," said Stillman. "And if your father didn't kill her that means there's still a murderer walking around out there."

"You want us to take a look at this, boss?" Lilly asked.

"I think it deserves a second look," said Stillman. "Just to make sure we have the right guy if he did do it."

"Okay," said Lilly. "Who was the detective on the case?"

"A Detective Harold Wilson," said Stillman. "You can start with him and see what he remembers about the case. There's always things about a case that aren't in the file. Maybe he can give you a new direction in the case."

"Well," said Lilly, looking at her watch, "it's nearly the end of the shift. We'll start first thing in the morning."

"Thanks," said Cain. "I kind of feel responsible for putting Mendelson in prison. If he's innocent, I'd like to help get him out."

"We'll let you know if we find anything," said Lilly.

"Thank you," said Terrance. "I know if you look deep enough you'll find that my father didn't do this."

"We'll see," said Lilly.


	3. Chapter 3

TWO

"Oh, yeah, I remember this case," said Detective Wilson when Lilly and Will went to speak with him. "It was the worst case I ever worked on. Partly because the victim was so young and partly because her own father had coldly poisoned her without any remorse. When they pulled her body from that culvert I nearly lost it then."

"Pretty bad, huh?" Lilly asked.

"I can't explain why. I've seen my share of decomposing bodies during my 24 years on the force. But seeing that child like that just got to me. I decided right there I was going to get this guy no matter how long it took."

"What made you center in on the father?" Will asked.

"Well, he was the one who reported her missing. He said he had taken her to work with him and she had run off after an argument. My partner and I caught the case and from the first minute he just didn't seem to be as upset as most parents who had just lost a child. He was very calculating. My partner felt the same way. But we didn't have anything that connected him to the murder. Then we got the coroner's report."

"The cyanide," said Will.

"Yeah. I knew that cyanide was used in some pesticides. And he ran a nursery. So I knew he was familiar with cyanide and had access to it. When we discovered that there was an amount of cyanide he had purchased that couldn't be accounted for I knew we had our man. It was just a matter of putting the case together. What is this about anyway? He was convicted and received a death sentence. Why all the questions now?"

"New evidence has come to light," said Lilly. "An invoice has surfaced that accounts for the missing cyanide. It's possible that Mendelson is innocent."

"I find that hard to believe," said Wilson. "We had an ironclad case against him. Means, opportunity, motive. And like I said, he didn't seem particularly upset that she was missing or when we told him she was dead. The mother took it pretty bad. And as I recall there was a brother. He was appropriately upset. But the father? Never even got misty about it."

"People handle grief in different ways," said Lilly.

"I'm well aware of that," said Wilson. "I've seen the whole gambit from freaking out to completely reserved. There was just something about the way he reacted. Almost like he was relieved that she was dead. I know she was a handful but she was still his daughter. It just seemed to me that he should have been a little more concerned."

"What do you mean she was a handful?" Will asked.

"Oh, I thought you knew. She had some genetic disorder. Her mother told us that she had always been kind of sickly as a child. And the medical bills for her treatment were pretty steep even considering the health insurance they carried on her. But that's no reason to murder an 8-year-old."

"No, it's not," said Lilly. "What about other suspects? Anyone else that might have looked good for this?"

"There really weren't any credible leads in the case. There was one guy we looked at. A child killer that had only recently been released from prison after doing a 27 years stretch. We looked at him briefly but he had an alibi that checked out."

"A child killer?" questioned Will. "Who was it?"

"Maynard Pollick. He lived about 6 blocks from the Mendelson house. And someone said they saw a man fitting his description hanging around that block the couple of weeks before the girl disappeared. Like I said, we checked into it but he had an alibi that checked out. Other than him, the father was the only suspect we had."

"You said this Pollick had an alibi?" Lilly asked.

"Yes. The girl disappeared between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. Pollick was sitting in a restaurant from about 6:15 until about 7:15. The waitress remembered him because he kept hitting on her. The restaurant was about six miles from the nursery where the girl went missing so there's no way he could have taken the girl."

"What about the mother or the brother?" Lilly asked. "If the father had access to the cyanide they must have had access to it as well. It was a family business."

"We looked at the whole family initially," said Wilson. "The boy was at a local park playing basketball with a bunch of other kids. And the mother was at home being the dutiful housewife. A neighbor corroborated that she was there when the girl went missing. Plus the father was the last one to be with her before she disappeared. You know as well as I do that under those circumstances it's almost always a family member or close friend. Since we didn't have any other leads we concentrated on the father."

"I can understand that," said Will. "But it now appears that someone else may have done it."

"Well," said Wilson thoughtfully, "I suppose anything is possible. And if Mendelson is innocent he shouldn't be doing time for a crime he didn't commit."

"That's awful understanding of you," said Lilly. "Most cops wouldn't be so willing to admit they made such a bad mistake."

"I retire in six months," said Wilson. "And I've made my share of mistakes on the job. Show me a cop who hasn't. But I've always done the job by the book. And if that means I have to admit I made a mistake so that an innocent man isn't unjustly punished, so be it. I doubt one mistake is going to define my career. Especially when that one mistake was an honest one."

"Well, you aren't the only cop to collar an innocent man," said Will. "And you didn't convict him. A jury did that."

"That's right," said Wilson. "Anything else you need to know?"

"No, that should do it," said Lilly. "We appreciate all the help."

"Let me know how this turns out," said Wilson. "I'd like to know what happens with it."

"We'll do that," said Will.

"What do you think?" Lilly asked as they left Wilson's office. "If there were no other leads it looks like the father did it."

"Maybe. But just because they didn't have any other leads doesn't mean there weren't any."

"You think the father is innocent?"

"That's hard to say. It's hard to believe a man could poison his own daughter and then just dump her body in a ditch somewhere."

"It does happen," said Lilly smiling at him. "I could show you case files."

"I've seen those files. And I know it can happen. But it takes a certain kind of person to do that. Most fathers' I know couldn't do something like that."

"Maybe this Theodore Mendelson is one of those types. What do you say we go find out just what type of man this Mendelson is?"

"That sounds like a good idea," said Will.

Lilly just smiled as they headed for the car. She knew that he had been thinking about that exact thing.

Death Row for the State of Pennsylvania was located at Rockview, nearly 3 ½ hours from Philadelphia. Lilly and Will knew it would be an all day trip if they were going to talk to Theodore Mendelson. So they decided to wait until the next day to make the trip. After talking with Stillman the lieutenant called the prison and made arrangements with the warden for them to talk to Mendelson. As it turned out the warden agreed with the detectives. If it was possible that Mendelson was innocent he felt it was his duty to follow every possible lead.

When the guard showed Mendelson into the interview room he was shackled at the wrists and ankles. When he was seated at the table they handcuffed the shackles on his wrists to the table. Then the guards left the room to let the detectives conduct their interview.

He wasn't what Lilly had expected. He actually looked younger than his 45 years. She had expected him to look older. Prison had a habit of prematurely aging inmates, especially those who were sitting on Death Row. As the guards left the room Mendelson just looked at Lilly and Will without any expression on his face.

"The warden says you're from Philly," said Mendelson.

"That's right," said Lilly. "I'm Detective Rush and this is Detective Jeffries. We'd like to talk to you about your daughter's death."

"Don't you mean her murder?" Mendelson asked, contempt in his voice. "Obviously you know I'm here because I was convicted of murdering my own daughter. And when my appeals run out they're going to stick a needle in my arm."

"Yeah, we know," said Will. "And you've always maintained that you're innocent."

"That's because I am," said Mendelson. "Look, I'm the first to admit that back then I didn't want a second child. And certainly not a daughter. But I did love my daughter. And I would never have harmed her I don't care what the so-called evidence says."

"You don't have a very high opinion of women, do you?" Lilly asked.

"Didn't," said Mendelson. "Past tense. Things have changed over the past 9 years. No, back then I didn't have a very high opinion of women. I thought they were only good for raising children, cooking meals, and cleaning the house. Pretty much the same way my father felt. Oh, I never mistreated them. I just never considered them as good as a man. I believe the term used to be male chauvinistic pig when I was growing up."

"And you don't feel that way now?" Will asked.

"Not anymore."

"What changed?" Lilly asked.

"Eight years on Death Row. That and counseling sessions with the prison shrink. It took a while but eventually I came to realize just how misguided my attitudes were. A lot of good it will do me. My appeals are almost exhausted. Once that happens the Governor will sign the order for my execution and that will be the end of that. Why all the questions now?"

"The main evidence against you was the missing 3 ounces of cyanide you had purchased," said Lilly. "You couldn't account for what happened to them. You claimed you had used them in some pesticides you were preparing but there was no record of you doing that."

"I can't explain that. I know I used it in one of my pesticides and I always documented each batch very carefully. The law required that I account for every drop of any controlled substances I used. And I was very careful with that documentation. I can't explain why there was no documentation for the missing cyanide."

"That's why we're here," said Will. "You son found the missing documentation. Apparently it was misfiled in another file. It was stuck to the back of another piece of paper."

"You found it?"

"That's right," said Lilly. "It might prove your innocence. Assuming you really are innocent."

"I'm innocent," Mendelson protested. "I've always maintained that I didn't kill my daughter. Because I didn't. What are you going to do with this information?"

"Your son is going to give it to your attorney," said Lilly. "That might help you with your appeal. I imagine your lawyer will be by in the next couple of days to discuss it with you."

"That proves I'm innocent," said Mendelson. "It proves I didn't kill my daughter. They'll have to believe me now."

"That's what we're looking into," said Will. "But I have to tell you it's probably going to take more than that one invoice to prove you're innocent. All it proves is that you can account for the cyanide in your shop. It doesn't mean you didn't get some more somewhere else."

"So why come to me? Why raise my hopes if it doesn't prove I'm innocent?"

"Like we told you, we're looking into the case again," said Lilly. "If you are innocent it might be possible to find the evidence that proves it. This is only the first step. We'll have to dig deeper if we're to prove your innocence or guilt."

"Why bother? I've all ready been convicted of it. Why waste your time on me? Isn't your job to put criminals like me in here?"

"Our job," said Lilly, looking over at Will, "is to find the truth. If you are innocent we'd like to prove it. And maybe catch the real murderer."

"So why come to me? What do you think I can do to help?"

"We'd like to know everything you can tell us about the day your daughter disappeared," said Lilly. "Anything you can tell us might be helpful."

"I'll tell you anything you need to know. Anything that will help prove I'm innocent."

"Okay," said Will. "Let's start with what happened that day. The day your daughter disappeared."


	4. Chapter 4

THREE

Terrance Mendelson showed Stillman and Vera into the living room of their home. As they walked into the house they noticed the room was dark. Charlotte Mendelson was sitting on the sofa watching what appeared to be a video tape of a home movie. It showed a younger version of her playing with a small girl. The two detectives recognized the girl ad Cari Mendelson from their file.

"Mom," said Terrance, "the detectives are here. They want to ask some questions."

Charlotte turned off the VCR and stood to greet the two. They noticed that there was moisture around her eyes and she had a tissue in her hand.

"I'm Lieutenant Stillman and this is Detective Vera. I'm sure your son has told you that we're looking into your daughter's death."

"Yes, he did. I don't see why. The man who killed my daughter is in prison where he belongs."

"I don't believe that, mom. Dad would never have hurt Cari."

"He never wanted her," she protested. "He was actually upset when he found out I was pregnant. And then when she was born with her disability he was even angrier. You know yourself he rarely spent any time with her. You were always his favorite."

"That doesn't mean he killed her."

"Mr. Mendelson," said Stillman, "the invoice your son brought us might indicate that your husband is innocent."

"Ex-husband," she replied, emphasizing the "ex". "We've been divorced for five years."

"He was convicted because he couldn't account for some of the cyanide he used in his work," said Nick. "The invoice accounts for that. So if he didn't use it to kill your daughter then maybe someone else did."

"Someone who just happened to use the same poison he used? I doubt that. Like I said, he rarely spent any time with her. And the one day he does she ends up dead. Seems pretty obvious to me."

"Why did he take her to work with him that day?" Stillman asked. "If he didn't care for her why bother to take her with him?"

"I pestered him until he did. She was 8-years-old and I don't think he had spent more than a few days with her in all that time. I thought if he could just spend some time with her he might learn to love her. I was wrong."

"He did love her, mom. He just didn't know how to show it."

"The file says that you were playing basketball when your sister disappeared," said Nick.

"Yeah. Some friends and I got together a couple of times a week and played some pickup games. Every Tuesday and Thursday, weather permitting. I didn't know what had happened until dad came by and got me."

"What about you, Mrs. Mendelson?" Stillman asked. "When did you learn your daughter had disappeared?"

"About 8:00 o'clock. Ted called and said they had gotten into an argument and that she had run out of the building. Later, when he went to look for her, he couldn't find her. He called here and asked if she had come home. When I told him she hadn't, he called the police."

"Do you know what the argument was about?"

He said she was bored and restless. That she wanted to come home. But he was working and couldn't be bothered. They got into an argument and she ran out into the yard behind the nursery."

"You said later when he went to look for her," said Nick. "He didn't look for her right away?"

"No. He said he was angry and he didn't want to approach her like that. So he went back to work until he cooled off and then went to look for her."

"You think he lost his temper and killed her?" Stillman asked.

"No. I think he was planning it all along. Like I said, he didn't want a second child. And certainly not a girl. Then when he discovered she wasn't well he practically ignored her."

"What was wrong with her?" Stillman asked.

"She had a genetic disorder," said Terrance. "It compromised her immune system. She had to spend most of the time in the house. When she did go outside mom would never let her leave the backyard."

"Did she have any friends?" Nick asked. "Maybe some neighborhood kids who came over to play with her?"

"No," said Terrance. "We were the only kids in the neighborhood. She just played in the backyard underneath the apricot trees. She loved apricots. She even kept a bowl of them in her room."

"She had so little joy in her life," said Charlotte. "It was one of the few pleasures that she could enjoy. And she always had a pocket full of them."

"What about enemies?" Stillman asked. "Was there anyone that might have wanted to harm her or maybe your husband?"

"I'm sure there were," said Charlotte. "At least for Ted. He was very opinionated and he never hesitated to let you know his opinion. But Cari didn't have any enemies. Everyone who knew her loved her. She was a very sweet little girl."

"What about a babysitter or a nanny?" Nick asked. "Maybe someone like that who held a grudge for some reason."

"We never had anyone like that," said Terrance. "Dad wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't allow mom to work, either. He always said a woman's place was in the home cooking, cleaning, and raising the children. As mom said, he was very opinionated about a great many things."

"What about you?" Nick asked. "Anyone you knew who might have hated you enough to want to get even by killing your sister?"

"No, no one like that. Oh there were guys I didn't get along with. Everyone has those. But no one who would have done something like that."

"Everyone loves Terry," Charlotte said. "He was quarterback of the football team, a straight A student, on the student council. He didn't have any enemies."

"Mom, everyone has enemies. But like I said, no one who would do something like that."

"You keep saying your dad is innocent," said Stillman. "Any particular reason why you feel that way other than just belief that your father can't do anything wrong?"

"I know my dad isn't perfect. You have to understand, lieutenant, that my dad is very old fashioned in many ways. Especially when it comes to a woman's place. He had definite ideas about that. And mom's right. He rarely spent any time with Cari. He always claimed it was my mom's responsibility to raise a daughter.

"But I also know that he would never hurt her. He was very strict but he was never abusive or violent. He never raised a hand against me or my sister. Neither of them did. He always said that violence only incited more violence. He'd rather lecture you for three hours than do any form of corporal punishment."

"Did he have a temper?" Stillman asked.

"Yeah, he did," said Terrance. "He'd get angry but he never lost his temper. The prosecutor claimed that he murdered my sister because he didn't want to put up with her anymore. That simply wasn't true. Oh, he wasn't happy that my sister's medical expenses were very extensive. But he really didn't have that much contact with her. That was mom's job. And mine."

"You used to help take care of your sister?" Nick asked.

"Sure. Mom couldn't always be there for her. I helped take up the slack when I could. When my dad wouldn't find out. He didn't approve of me 'wasting' my time doing what he considered women's work."

"So there's no one you can think of who might have had it in for your family?" Stillman asked.

"Well, I don't know if it means anything," said Terrance. "I didn't think about it when Cari went missing. But something did happen a few days before."

"What was it?" Nick asked.

"It was a Saturday night. I remember because Walker, Texas Ranger had just come on. It was one of the few shows dad used to watch. Said that Chuck Norris was a real man. Anyway, he answered the phone and immediately moved into the study to take the call. But I could still hear him talking on the phone."

"What did he say?" Stillman asked.

"I don't know what the conversation was about. But I did hear dad say to leave his family out of it. That we had nothing to do with it. Then he said he'd take care of it. After that he hung up and came out of study. And he was upset that whoever had called had called during Walker."

"Any idea who had called your father that night?" Stillman asked.

"No. Dad rarely talked about his business dealings at home. He just sat back down and finished watching the show."

"You said this was about a week before your sister went missing?"

"Yes. I had forgotten all about it. Especially after Cari disappeared and the next couple of weeks was pretty hectic. Then they found her body and that was all there was to it."

"I don't see what good any of this is going to do," said Charlotte. "Ted killed Cari. He's sitting in prison for it."

"Well, we thank you for your time," said Stillman. "We'll keep you apprised of what we find out."

As Terrance walked them to the front door Charlotte sat back down on the sofa and turned the VCR back on. When they reached the front door Stillman looked back into the living room.

"I guess this has brought up a lot of bad memories for the two of you," he said.

"More for her," said Terrance, looking back at his mother. "She took Cari's death really hard. She never got over it. And after my dad was arrested for Cari's murder she got worse."

"I guess the home movies help her to deal now that this has been brought back up," said Nick.

"I suppose. Only this is nothing new. That's how she spends most of her days. Sitting on the sofa watching those old home movies. She has for years."

"We're sorry if this is making it harder for you," said Stillman.

"That's all right," said Terrance. "She's convinced that dad killed Cari. Nothing I say can convince her otherwise. I can handle it. I just want to prove that my dad didn't do it. That's all."

"We'll let you know what we find out," said Stillman, shaking Terrance's hand.

"It should be easy to track down that phone call," said Nick as they left the house. "The phone company should be able to tell us who made the call to the house."

"Check on it as soon as we get back," said Stillman. "Will and Lilly will be back from Rockville tomorrow. We can check in with them then and compare notes."

"What do you think, boss?" Nick asked. "Do you think there's anything to this?"

"Not from what I can tell. There doesn't seem to be anything to indicate that the father didn't do it or that someone else did. Looks like this one might be a wild goose chase."

"Depends on what I find out from the phone company. From what the kid said his old man was into something that he was afraid might involve his family. And he obviously didn't want them involved."

"Let me know what you find out," said Stillman. "When Will and Lilly get back we'll see if we should continue with this investigation. From what I can see this isn't going anywhere."

They got into the car and headed back to the police station.


	5. Chapter 5

FOUR

"What did Mendelson have to say?" Stillman asked the next morning at the police station.

"Not much," said Will. "His story was pretty much the same as when he told it in 1995."

"Not so surprising," said Nick. "He's had fifteen years to rehearse it. Make sure all the facts are the same."

"I don't know," said Lilly. "He didn't seem like the type to murder a child. He seemed genuinely repentant about what had happened. He even said he had changed since going to prison. Didn't think of women in the same way he did when he first went there."

"So he got religion," said Nick. "A lot of cons get religion once they go to the joint."

"No, it wasn't religion," said Will. "He claimed to have a different outlook on life. I'm with Lilly on this one. I've seen my share of killers. Mendelson doesn't seem to fit the type."

"Did you guys learn anything?" Lilly asked.

"Apparently about a week before the girl disappeared Mendelson got a phone call," said Stillman. "Nick tracked the call to a Tracy Holcomb. From what Terrance said Holcomb apparently threatened Mendelson. He said he would take care of it. A few days later the daughter disappeared."

"Have you talked to this Tracy Holcomb?" Lilly asked.

"Not yet," said Nick. "The boss thought you might want to talk to her. I have her address right here."

"Boss, I gotta tell you," said Lilly, "I'm not seeing this going anywhere. So far there's no indication that the jury was wrong in this case. We haven't found any leads that point to anyone else. And like Nick said, cyanide isn't something you can just walk into a store and buy."

"We'll give it another day or two," said Stillman. "Go see this Tracy Holcomb and see what she has to say. It might give us the direction we need."

"We'll get right on it," said Lilly. "Maybe you're right. But if we don't find something soon we may have to put this one to bed. It doesn't seem to be going anywhere."

"Lil, go see Holcomb by yourself," said Stillman. "Nick, I want you re-interview the Mendelson's neighbors. Verify her alibi that she was at home that night. Maybe one of them has thought of something they didn't think of in '95. Will, check into this Maynard Pollick and his alibi."

"What are you going to be doing?" Nick asked.

"I'm going to see if I can track down the cyanide that was used to murder the girl," said Stillman. "We've accounted for the amount that Mendelson had. That means that it had to come from somewhere else. And like you said, it's a controlled substance. There has to be a record of it somewhere."

"On it boss," said Lilly as she and the others headed out of the station.

* * *

Tracy Holcomb was co-owner of the West Side Pest Control Company. When Lilly showed her badge the secretary showed her right in. Holcomb was about 45 and elegantly dressed. She seemed to be very personable and offered Lilly a seat.

"So, what can I do for Philly's finest?" Holcomb asked.

"I'm investigating the murder of Cari Mendelson in 1995. Some new evidence has come to light and we're reexamining the case."

"Yes, that was awful. I remember reading about it in the paper. It was horrible. Such a pretty little redhead. And to be murdered that way. It was such a terrible tragedy."

"According to the phone records you called Theodore Mendelson less than a week before his daughter disappeared. And we have a witness that says you threatened him."

"That never happened," said Holcomb, getting nervous. "I hardly knew Theodore Mendelson."

"Then why were you calling him at 9:00 o'clock on a Saturday night?"

"It was nothing. Just some business. I don't even remember what it was about."

"Well," said Lilly, pulling some papers out and laying them on the desk, "according to the phone records you called Mendelson's nursery several times a week for more than two years. Still don't remember what the phone call that Saturday was about?"

Holcomb just looked at Lilly. Small beads of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead. And Lilly could tell that she was getting nervous.

"You were having an affair with Mendelson, weren't you?"

"Yes," Holcomb said finally. "It started innocently enough. We used the same distributor for some of our supplies. One day we were both in the office at the same time and started talking. It just sort of blossomed from there."

"So, what was the phone call about that Saturday night? And the threat?"

"It wasn't a threat," Holcomb said defensively. "Not really. We would get together four or five times a month. But both of us had been particularly busy and we hadn't had a chance to see each other for a while. I just wanted to see him. But he said he couldn't get away right then."

"So you didn't threaten him?"

"I got angry. I told him if he didn't make some time to see me that I'd tell his wife what we were doing. He said he'd try to make some time for us that week. After a while I calmed down. But his daughter disappeared before we could get together. Then he was arrested for her murder. I never saw Ted after that."

"Where did the two of you usually meet?"

"His nursery. He had a small room fixed up in the back. Sometimes if he had to work late he'd just stay over. It was cheaper than a hotel and virtually impossible for anyone to find out about us. No paper trail."

"Did you ever meet Theodore's family?"

"No. I never went to his house. There was no reason to. Besides we didn't want to make his wife suspicious."

"So she didn't know about you two?"

"Not as far as I know. Ted always said she stayed home most of the time. Taking care of their daughter. She was sickly from what I understand. Needed constant supervision."

"What about your husband? Didn't he get suspicious?"

"My husband died about three years before I met Ted. I had been alone all that time. It's one of the reasons I worked so much. Ted just came along at the right time."

"Was there ever talk about the two of you getting together? Maybe he was leaving his wife for you or something?"

"It did come up a couple of times. But we both knew it would never happen. His family needed him too much. Especially his daughter. He felt obligated to take care of her and he always told me he couldn't just leave her out in the cold."

"Tell me," said Lilly. "Do you mix your own chemicals here?"

"Some. Sometimes it's necessary to mix different types of pesticides together for a particular job. And I can see where you're going with this. I can account for every drop of cyanide we use in the business. I have a bookkeeper who keeps very precise records of things like that."

"Okay. So, just for the record, where were you the night that Cari Mendelson disappeared?"

"Right here working. I work late a lot. It takes a lot of work running a business like this."

"I can imagine. Well, I think that's about all I have for now. Thank you for your time."

"No problem. If I can help Ted I'd like to help in any way I can."

Lilly left the building and headed for her car. Despite what Holcomb had told her she felt they might have a viable lead here. She wanted to get back to the station and let the others know what she found.

* * *

"So Mendelson was stepping out on his wife," said Nick. "That didn't come out during the trial."

"And Mrs. Holcomb works with poisons regularly," said Lilly. "Including cyanide. I checked. Cyanide is part of a lot of pesticides. If Mendelson's daughter was an obstacle to him leaving his wife maybe she thought he would if the daughter was out of the way."

"Or maybe she murdered the daughter as a way to punish Mendelson," suggested Nick.

"You have anything else to go on besides gut instinct?" Stillman asked.

"Nothing concrete," said Lilly. "But it's the first real lead we've had. She knew that he worked late. His daughter was in the way of them getting together. And she has access to cyanide. Plus she doesn't have an alibi for the night Mendelson's daughter disappeared."

"You said she said she could account for the cyanide," said Will.

"She said she could," Lilly said. "And I have no doubt all of her paperwork will appear to be in order. She's had 9 years to make sure it's in order. But it shouldn't be very hard to get enough cyanide to murder someone. Especially an 8-year-old girl. Take a little bit out of a new bottle and refill it with water. If the amount was small enough the water she replaced it with wouldn't have diluted the entire bottle that much. She would just need to do that a few times until she had enough cyanide to kill Cari."

"The same could be said of Mendelson," said Stillman.

"Then I would have thought Mendelson would have kept better track of his records," said Lilly.

"People make mistakes," said Nick. "Maybe he meant to but just misplaced the invoice."

"You both have valid points," said Lilly. "But this seems like a valid lead to me. I'd like to check into it further."

"Go ahead," said Stillman. "See if it goes anywhere."

"Did you find out anything about the cyanide?" Lilly asked.

"Not yet. So far all of the businesses that use cyanide in Philly check out. And there's no connection to Mendelson. But I'm still checking."

"Well," said Nick, "the neighbors say that Charlotte Mendelson was home the entire day her daughter disappeared. Said she even saw her out in the backyard picking a bowl of apricots."

"Mrs. Mendelson said her daughter loved apricots," said Stillman. "Even let her keep a bowl of them in her room."

"Well, they only had the one car," Nick continued. "The neighbor said that Mr. Mendelson and the daughter drove off about 4:30 or so and no other cars pulled up until he came home about 9:00. She said that Charlotte worked in the garden for a while between 5:00 and 6:45 or so. Then she picked the bowl of apricots and went back into the house. It wasn't until the next day that she learned about the daughter's disappearance."

"What did you find out about Pollick?" Stillman asked Will.

"Seems his alibi checked out. I spoke to the waitress that served him that night. She did say that he was there when he claimed he was. So he couldn't have been the one that kidnapped the daughter. I also found out that he died about three years ago. Natural causes."

"Well, Tracy Holcomb seems to be a valid lead," said Stillman. "Check into her further and see what you can find out. Will, check the records for her purchases, especially for cyanide. See if she was ordering more than would be normal for that type of business."

"Will do," said Will.

"In the meantime," said Stillman, "I'll continue to check into the cyanide sales. We might just get lucky."

They all broke up to attend to their duties.


	6. Chapter 6

FIVE

Nick and Lilly went to the hall of records to check out Holcomb's business. It was a long shot and they weren't sure what evidence they might find that would help them with their investigation. But Lilly liked to be thorough. You never knew what small bit of information might prove to be useful.

"Well," said Lilly, looking through a file, "nothing unusual here. Apparently Patrick Holcomb started his business in May 1982. He married Tracy a year later. In 1992 Patrick dies of a heart attack and Tracy inherits the business. She's run it ever since."

"That would have made him about 34 when he died," said Nick. "Kind of young for a heart attack."

"But not unheard of. Maybe he had a heart condition."

"Maybe he had a little help. A lot of stuff out there that can induce a heart attack. And most aren't checked for during an autopsy. Maybe we should check into how Mr. Holcomb died."

"We'll check into that next. But this looks like a dead end. Nothing out of the ordinary that I can find here."

"Here's something," said Nick, handing a piece of paper to Lilly. "Apparently Patrick Holcomb used a house as collateral for the loan he used to start his business. Check out the address."

Lilly took the paper and looked at the address. It took her a moment to remember what part of town it was in. Then it dawned on her. She looked up at Nick.

"That address is only about 6 blocks from where Cari's body was found."

"That's right," said Nick. "Which means that Mrs. Holcomb would be familiar with it. I would imagine that loan has been paid off by now. Let me see if I can find out if she still owns the house."

"Good idea. I'll finish up here. But it doesn't look like we're going to find anything here. When we're done we'll check into Mr. Holcomb's death. Probably nothing there either but it can't hurt to look."

Nick went to check the records on the house while Lilly continued combing through the business records for the pest control company. She had just finished when Nick came back holding some papers.

"There's nothing here," she said. "At least nothing that's going to help us with this case."

"Well I have something. According to the records the loan on the house was paid off and Mrs. Holcomb is listed as still being the current owner of the property."

"Well, that's something. Now that means she would be familiar with the area where Cari Mendelson's body was found. And she had access cyanide. Plus she doesn't have an alibi. She's looking better and better for this."

"Maybe we should take a run by that house," said Nick. "Probably nothing there but it can't hurt to take a look at it."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. We'll swing by there and then go back to the station to see what the others have found out."

* * *

"Well, from what I can find out all the businesses that handle cyanide can account for it," said Stillman back at the station. "And there doesn't seem to be any connection between any of them and Mendelson."

"Well, we found something interesting," said Lilly. "Mr. Holcomb's husband died of a heart attack when he was 34. She inherited his business after that. She also inherited a house he had initially used as collateral on a loan to start his business. A house she still owns."

"And get this," said Nick. "The house is only a half mile from where the girl's body was found."

"You looking at her as the doer?" Stillman asked.

"She had means, motive, and opportunity," said Lilly. "She knew that Mendelson worked late a lot. Maybe she goes by to see him. To try and persuade him to leave his wife again. She sees the daughter and decides that if the daughter is out of the way she has a clear shot at him. So she kidnaps the little girl, kills her, and dumps her body figuring the body wouldn't be found for a while. With the daughter out of the way there's nothing stopping him from leaving his wife for her."

"Or she kidnaps and kills the little girl in retaliation for him not leaving his husband," said Nick. "To punish him. Then when he's arrested for the girl's murder it's just icing on the cake for her."

"We're a little light on evidence," said Stillman. "Anything about the house that might be useful?"

"I don't think so," said Lilly. "We took a drive by it on our way back. It's sitting on the edge of town kind of out of the way. And virtually no plants or shrubbery, not even grass. The entire grounds have been paved over in gravel. Besides, my guess is that she wouldn't have taken anything to the house that would incriminate her."

"I found something," said Will. "I checked on Holcomb's purchasing record. Nothing very suspicious in them at all. They all seem to be in line with what other similar companies purchase. But I did find one unusual item."

"What is it?" Stillman asked.

"It was in 1992," said Will. "Records show she purchased something called a Strawberry Foxglove."

"Maybe it was some kind of a special order for some kind of pesticide she needed," suggested Nick.

"I don't think so," said Will. "From what I can tell it's not used in the production of any kind of pesticide. And she only ordered one plant."

"So what did she order the plant for?" Lilly questioned. "An office decoration maybe? Or possibly a plant for her home? Only I don't recall any plants in the office when I was there."

"It was 11 years ago," said Stillman. "It's very possible she doesn't have it any longer. It could have died or she could have given it to someone."

"Then why isn't there any record of her buying a plant to replace it if it was a decoration?" Lilly asked.

"You think she might have bought it for some other reason?" Stillman asked.

"It's possible," said Lilly. "That depends on what other purposes it has besides decoration. We need to check with a horticulturist and see what this Strawberry Foxglove can be used for. I know a flower shop near where I live. They might be able to tell us."

"Check into it," said Stillman. "Will, why don't you see if you can find out if Holcomb was working late like she claimed she was? We need to see if we can put her in the vicinity of Mendelson's nursery the night Cari disappeared. Nick, run her through the computer. Let's see if Mrs. Holcomb has any kind of record. I'll check on how Holcomb's husband died."

"I shouldn't be gone long," said Lilly.


	7. Chapter 7

SIX

The next day Tracy Holcomb sat in the interrogation room of the police station. She had been sitting there for nearly 20 minutes before Lilly decided to go into the room. It was often advantageous to keep someone waiting before the questioning began. When they got nervous they made mistakes. Finally Lilly entered the interrogation room, Nick close at hand. Will and Stillman stood in the observation room watching the interrogation.

"What's this all about?" Holcomb asked. "I got a call asking me to come down here and you keep me waiting for nearly half an hour. I do have a business to run."

"A business you inherited from your husband after he died," said Lilly.

"Yes," said Holcomb. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Your husband died of a heart attack," said Nick. "At the age of 34. Kind of young for a heart attack."

"He had a congenital heart condition," said Holcomb. "His doctor certified that it was a heart attack. Not at all unusual under the circumstances."

"Only there wasn't an autopsy," said Lilly. "There didn't seem to be any foul play involved and since he all ready had a history of heart trouble an autopsy wasn't required. Is that why you decided to murder your husband that way?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Holcomb. "I didn't murder anyone."

"Then how do you explain the purchase of a Strawberry Foxglove plant 2 weeks before your husband had his heart attack?" Lilly asked.

"A plant?" Holcomb questioned. "What does that have to do with my husband's death? And what does any of this have to do with Cari Mendelson's murder?"

"We found out some interesting things about the Strawberry Foxglove," said Lilly. "It's part of family of plants that belong to the digitalis family. It's the same plants they make heart medications from."

"Yeah, so?" questioned Holcomb.

"So," said Nick, "you graduated from college with a degree in chemistry. You'd know how to use that plant to create a makeshift tonic. What did you do? Slip it into his coffee? Maybe mix it in with his corn flakes for breakfast?"

"This is insane," said Holcomb, standing up. "I'm not putting up with this any longer. I'm leaving."

"Sit down," said Lilly. "We aren't through here yet."

"I didn't kill my husband," said Holcomb sitting back down. "He died of a heart attack, plain and simple. Just as the doctor certified."

"Then we shouldn't find anything," said Lilly, laying a piece of paper on the table.

"Find what?" questioned Holcomb.

"We have a court order to exhume your husband's body," said Lilly. "The coroner tells us that even after all these years it will still be able to tell if a victim has been poisoned. The poison gets into the liver, kidneys, most of the body's major organs. Even after a body has been embalmed they can still determine how much poison was in the body at the time of death."

"In fact," said Nick, "the coroner says that they can still tell decades after a body has been buried."

"So what are we going to find when we exhume the body, Tracy?" questioned Lilly. "Are we going to find a lethal dose of digitalis in his system?"

Holcomb just stared at Lilly. Lilly knew what the answer to that question was. If they did find digitalis in her husband's system it would look very bad for Tracy. And she would have a very hard time explaining the purchase of that plant in light of the evidence. Finally she just looked down at the table.

"My husband was a monster," said Holcomb. "He used to enjoy beating on me. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I only wanted to make him sick. Too sick to beat on me. I didn't know it would kill him."

"So it was an accident?" Nick asked.

"Yes," said Holcomb. "Like I said, I just wanted to make him sick. But I guess I used too much. He was dead before I could even call the hospital."

"And what about Cari Mendelson?" Lilly asked. "Was she an accident, too?"

"I didn't kill her," said Holcomb. "Ted did. He poisoned her with cyanide. It was in all the papers."

"You have access to cyanide, too," said Lilly. "And you knew where his business was. You told me yourself that you used to see him there. You also said he wouldn't leave his wife for you. That must have made you angry. Angry enough to get back at him by killing his daughter maybe?"

"No, that didn't happen," said Holcomb. "I told you, I never met his family. I only knew about his daughter from the newspaper articles. Besides, I told you. I was working the night his daughter disappeared."

"Is that so?" Lilly questioned. "Then how do you explain this speeding ticket you got the night of June 15, 1995? Issued to you at 7:12 p.m. not more than a mile from Mendelson's nursery. The same night that Cari Mendelson disappeared."

"According to the ticket," said Nick, "the road you got it on is the same road where the culvert is that the Mendelson girl's body was found. And you were traveling away from the culvert when the police officer pulled you over."

"Oh, that," said Holcomb nervously, "yes, I remember now. I ran to the market to pick up a few things, that's all. And I simply didn't realize I was traveling that fast, that's all."

"Really?" questioned Lilly. "That's interesting. There are no stores or markets on that road. In fact, there are no stores or markets anywhere near that road."

"So I went for a ride afterwards," said Holcomb. "There's no crime in that. I never hurt that little girl."

"You know what I think?" Nick asked. "I think when Mendelson rejected you it pissed you off. I think you decided to punish him so you kidnapped his daughter and murdered her to get even with him."

"No, that never happened," said Holcomb, becoming agitated. "I never hurt that girl, I told you that."

"So what was it?" Lilly asked. "Did you decide that Ted would leave his wife if his daughter was out of the way? Is that why you decided to kill Cari? To remove the one obstacle standing between you and him?"

"I never hurt her," Holcomb insisted. "I could never hurt such a sweet little girl."

"I thought you said you didn't know his family?" said Lilly. "You said you had never been to his house. That you'd never met his family."

"I saw her picture in the paper," said Holcomb. "It was big news back then. You could just tell she was a sweet child. That red hair of hers framing such an angelic face. You could just tell she was a very sweet girl."

"And how did you know she had red hair?" Lilly asked.

"I told you," said Holcomb. "Her picture was in the paper."

"Except the picture was in black and white," said Nick. "You're right. It was big news back then. I remember reading about it, too. But the only picture they had of her was a black and white one. That's the one the newspaper printed."

"So tell me, Tracy," said Lilly. "If you'd never met Cari, how did you know she had red hair?"

Holcomb just stared at Lilly again. She had no answer for that question.

"It's not what you think," she said finally. "I told you the truth. I never harmed her."

"So what happened?" Nick said. "How did she end up in that culvert?"

Holcomb took a deep breath and looked at Lilly and Nick. There was nothing she could do now. It was over and she knew it.

* * *

June 15, 1995

Tracy Holcomb got out of her car and looked around. The nursery seemed to be deserted except for a single light on in the offices. And Ted's car was sitting in its customary parking space. Smiling to herself she looked at her watch. 6:37. Well, if he was working late that would give them some time together. Time they hadn't had a chance to have recently.

As she walked to the office door she thought about him. Always the dutiful father and husband he had refused to leave his wife because of their daughter. A sick little girl that needed constant medical attention. She was sure if it wasn't for the girl Ted would be more willing to leave his wife.

But for the time being she'd have to settle for the times they could steal away. As she walked toward the door she heard some whimpering. She looked over and saw a young girl sitting on a bench outside the building crying. It didn't take much to figure out who the girl was. Ted had obviously brought his daughter to work with him.

"Hi there," Holcomb said. "Are you okay?"

"Daddy won't let me go home. It's boring here. But he says he has work to do and we can't go home. It's not fair."

"Well, I'm a friend of your daddy's. My name is Tracy. You must be Cari."

"Yeah. You know my daddy?"

"Very well. I'll tell you what. Why don't I take you home? That way you can go home and your daddy can stay here and work. Then it won't be boring anymore."

"Is that okay? I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Oh, but I'm not a stranger. I'm your daddy's friend, remember? We can stop and get some ice cream on the way home. What do you say?"

"Well, I guess it will be okay. Since you're my daddy's friend. Can we get some apricot ice cream?"

"Sure we can," said Holcomb as she and Cari walked to the car. "You like apricot ice cream?"

"Sure. Apricots are the best." Cari reached into her backpack and pulled out several apricots. "We have two big trees in our backyard. Mommy let's me have all I want. That's 'cause I'm so sick."

"I know. Your daddy told me about how sick you are. You know? I know someone who might be able to help you. He's a doctor and he works with children who have the same type of sickness you have. He might be able to help you."

"Really? You think he could? I know mommy worries about me. She worries a lot. I don't like it when she worries."

"Well, what if he could help you? Would you like him to do that?"

"Sure. Maybe mommy wouldn't cry so much if I was better."

"We could surprise them. Your mommy and daddy. I could see that you go to my doctor friend and he could make you all better. Then you could come back home and your mommy would see that you're all better. She wouldn't have to cry anymore."

"You could do that? Mommy says that doctors cost a lot of money."

"Oh, he doesn't. Like I said he does this a lot. And there are a lot of rich people who give him money to help the children he helps. Your mommy wouldn't have to worry about needing any money."

"How long would I have to be gone?"

"Just a few days. I can send you to him right away. And I'll be sure to tell your mommy and daddy that you've gone to a doctor who's going to help you. So they won't worry about you at all."

"I don't know. I've never been away from home before. It's kind of scary."

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you come to my house and I can call your mommy. I'll explain to her what we're going to do and see if she says it's okay. Then I can make sure you get to the doctor right away. If she doesn't say it's okay then I can take you home."

"Well, I suppose that would be okay. Can we still get the ice cream?"

"Of course. We'll go to my house and call your mommy. Then we'll go get the ice cream. How's that sound?"

"Okay. I guess that's all right. Since you're my daddy's friend."

"Good," said Holcomb as she drove toward town.

Once the little girl was out of the way Ted would have no reason not to leave his wife. And it should be an easy matter to find someone who could take the little girl. Her brother was constantly in trouble with the law. He would probably know someone who would buy her.

Suddenly she heard a crunching sound. She looked over as Cari was putting another apricot in her mouth. She bit off the flesh of the fruit and ate and then put the pit into her mouth and bit down. There was the distinctive "crunching" sound as the little girl bit into the pit of the fruit.

"Honey, you really shouldn't eat the pits like that. They aren't good for you."

"No, it's okay. I do it all the time. The inside of the seed kind of taste like almonds. I like almonds, too, only not as much as apricots."

"Well, it's still not good for you," said Holcomb. "They can make you very sick. It's okay to eat the fruit but you really shouldn't . . . ."

Her sentence went unfinished as Cari suddenly seemed to be choking. She reached up and put her hands to her throat as if she had something lodged there. She tried gasping for air but barely made a sound.

Panic stricken Tracy quickly pulled the car off on the shoulder of the road. She got out and hurriedly rushed to the passenger side of the car, flinging it open as quickly as she could. As she did the limp body of the little girl fell half dangling out of the door as Holcomb grabbed her, keeping her from falling to the ground.

Holcomb dragged Cari out of the car and laid her on the ground. The little girl was not breathing. She opened Cari's mouth and felt inside looking for whatever was obstructing the girl's airway. But after fishing out a few pieces of apricot pit she found nothing that would be keeping the girl from breathing.

Holcomb didn't know what to do. She had never had any medical training and didn't know the first thing about helping someone in Cari's situation. She also knew that it was probably all ready too late to help the little girl. She hadn't been choking from having her air passage obstructed. Holcomb knew exactly what had happened.

A few more minutes passed and Holcomb realized that Cari was dead. The hospital was much too far away to be of any use. Even if she took the child there immediately there would be virtually no chance of reviving her. She was gone and there was no way to bring her back. And she couldn't risk anyone finding out what she had done.

In almost a panic she looked around the deserted road. The nearly full moon illuminated the entire countryside quite clearly. There were several houses that could be seen in the distance but no one was nearby. She and the now dead little girl were completely alone.

Suddenly her gaze focused on the road only a few yards ahead. There was a small culvert that allowed water to pass under the road to keep it from flooding when it rained. Carefully she scooped the body of the young girl and headed for the culvert. Then she took the body and began to stuff it in the culvert. It wasn't very big and she had trouble getting the body completely inside. Eventually, however, she had the body stuffed in the culvert.

She went back to the car and retrieved the girl's backpack. Looking around to make sure she was still alone she returned to the culvert and stuffed the backpack into the culvert next to Cari's body. She stepped back and looked at the scene.

It was hard to tell because it was so dark out. But it was almost impossible to tell that there was anything inside the culvert. With a little luck it would be a very long time before anyone discovered the body. And there was virtually no indication of who had put the body there. Once it was discovered; if it ever was discovered; it would be very difficult to identify who she was. And no way to trace the body back to her.

Holcomb hurriedly rushed back to her car and got in. Then she sped down the road as fast as she could drive away from the scene, putting the incident out of her mind forever.


	8. Chapter 8

SEVEN

"I never harmed her," Holcomb finished. "And I would have made sure she got a good home. I just figured if she was out of the way then Ted wouldn't have any reason not to leave his wife. That's all there was to it. But she died before I could even get back into town."

"You expect us to believe that she died from eating apricots?" Lilly asked.

"No, not the apricots," said Holcomb. "The pits. She would break them open and eat the insides. And as I told her, that can be dangerous. Apricot pits have cyanide inside them. Eat enough of them and they can make you sick. Or worse."

Nick slid a pad and pen across the table to Holcomb.

"Write it down," he said. "Exactly as you told it to us. If you're lucky the DA may decide not to go for the death penalty. If you're lucky all you'll get is life in prison."

"But I didn't hurt her," Holcomb protested. "She died from eating apricot pits, just as I told you. If anything it was an accidental death. That's all."

"Well, we'll check out your story," said Lilly. "But you kidnapped her. She died during the commission of a felony. That makes it a capital crime. First degree murder. And that makes you eligible for the death penalty."

"But I never intended to harm her," protested Holcomb.

"You never intended to harm her?" Lilly questioned anger in her voice. "You were going to take her away from a loving family and sell her to total strangers. Strangers who you didn't have any idea of how they'd treat her. I can't think of anything more despicable than that. Now, write out your statement. By the time you're finished the DA should be here. He can decide what to do with you now."

Holcomb picked up the pen and just looked at the pad for a few moments before she began to write. Lilly and Nick left the interrogation room and met Stillman and Will just coming out of the observation room.

"Good work," said Stillman. "I guess this proves that Mendelson didn't murder his daughter. If what she says is true the girl wasn't murdered. It was an accidental death."

"A death during the commission of a felony, just as I told her," said Lilly, anger still in her voice. "That makes it first degree murder."

"Oh, I'm not arguing with you," said Stillman. "Once we have her confession get it typed up so she can sign it. We'll need to get this to Mendelson's attorney so he can present it to the appeals court. There shouldn't be any problem getting his conviction overturned."

"I'll get it done as soon as possible," said Nick. "Plus we have her for the murder of her husband. She'll probably never get out of prison."

"Lil," said Will, "when did you get a court order to exhume her husband's body?"

"I didn't," said Lilly. "I only told her that. I wasn't sure we had enough to get an exhumation order. But she didn't know that. She just took my word that the piece of paper I showed her was the exhumation order. It's a good thing she didn't look at it."

"What was it?" Stillman asked.

"Just a blank sheet of paper that I had folded up," said Lilly. "But it did the trick. When we're finished up here I'm going to go see Terrance and his mom. Let them know what's happened. I'm sure they'll be happy to know we were able to clear Theodore's name."

"Speaking of which," said Stillman, "I'd better give Hank Cain a call. I promised to let him know how things turned out."

* * *

"So that's it?" Terrance questioned when Lilly and Nick had told them of the turn of events. "You got a full confession?"

"Enough of one," said Lilly. "Enough to prove that your father didn't kill your sister."

"I knew she loved apricots," said Charlotte. "I never imagined she'd be eating the pits."

"I guess no one did," said Nick. "We checked and found out that Mrs. Holcomb was right. There is cyanide in an apricot pit. And if you eat enough of them they can definitely have an effect on you. Plus our coroner says that with Cari's medical condition it's also very possible she had a reaction to the cyanide in the apricot pit. Depending on how many she had eaten."

"That backpack of hers," said Terrance. "It had several pockets in the side and the back. I know she usually kept one of them filled with apricots. Maybe a couple of dozen. And she took the backpack wherever she went, when she did go out."

"According to the police report," said Lilly, "there were no apricots or apricot pits found on her body when she was found in the culvert. The coroner said with her medical condition it wouldn't have taken that many for her to have a reaction. If she had been closer to a hospital they might have been able to save her. But where she had the attack there was just nothing anyone could have done about it. She would have been gone in minutes. But she probably didn't suffer much. You can be thankful for that."

"What about Mrs. Holcomb?" Charlotte asked. "What will they do with her?"

"We have a signed confession from her about the murder of your daughter and her husband," said Nick. "Considering the circumstances the DA probably won't go for the death penalty. But more than likely she'll spend the rest of her life in prison."

"What about my dad?" Terrance asked. "You said this proves he didn't murder Cari. Doesn't that mean they have to let him out of prison?"

"That will be up to the courts," said Lilly. "But I imagine that once they learn what happened they'll vacate his conviction. There's some red tape to go through but I imagine his lawyer will have him out of prison just as soon as possible."

"Thank you," said Terrance. "Thank you for everything. I always knew my dad was innocent. But to be honest I wasn't sure anyone would ever be able to prove it."

"Yes, thank you, detectives," said Charlotte. "Thank you for coming by to tell us. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have things to do."

Charlotte turned and headed back into the living room. Terrance just watched his mother walk away with a pained look on his face. Then he turned back to the detectives.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm afraid this doesn't help her much. I don't think she'll ever get over Cari's death. I don't really know what to do for her."

"We can give you some numbers," said Lilly. "Agencies that might be able to help."

"Thanks," said Terrance. "I'm not sure what good it will do. She doesn't want to do much of anything but sit and watch the old home movies of my sister."

"If you change your mind, let me know," said Lilly. "I can put you in touch with those agencies I mentioned."

"Thank you again," said Terrance. "I'll be sure to let dad know you were responsible for getting him free. Once he's back home."

"Just doing our job," said Lilly. "We were glad to help."

"You think she'll get better?" Nick asked as he and Lilly walked to the car.

"I don't know," said Lilly. "There are some things that some people never get over. All we can do it try to help. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. We can't save everyone."

"Well, at least we were able to get an innocent man out of prison," said Nick.

"And solved another murder to boot," said Lilly. "Not a bad day's work."

"I'll drive," said Nick, getting in behind the wheel. "And when we get back to the office I'll buy you a cup of coffee."

"The coffee's free at the office," said Lilly, smiling at her partner.

"Don't mention that to the boss," said Nick. "He might decide to make us pay for it what with the budget cuts and all."

Lilly just laughed as Nick headed back to the police station.

The End

If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Cold Case" stories at my website, Creative Passions, listed in my bio. You can also post your own "Cold Case" stories or other stories if you like to write fan fiction.


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